Time continued to tick by in an agonising manner to the trainees still in line. The average trial lasted about ten to fifteen minutes. Sometimes more, sometimes less.
It all depended on the caliber of trainee that was partaking the test. The nobles and the youths with high potential among the commoners had no real issues with passing the trials.
It was only those near the bottom who really struggled.
Sadly, more often than not, that meant failing the trials. The trainees whose efforts fell short wore crushed expressions. Their confidence shattered to pieces, dealt a huge blow.
Although this did not mean they couldn't form a Mana core, their chances had decreased significantly.
Nico sighed heavily. The grim and despondent air threatened to overwhelm and undo his previous attempts at calming himself.
Now, only one person stood between him and the cabin.
As anxiety threatened to flare and enshroud his entire being, Nico reflected on his time in the Camp. From meeting Henry and Leon to the beating at the hands of Lucas, to his first meeting with his spear instructor, Phantom… the duels, the mission, and the death of one of his peers.
All of it combined to give a melancholic yet slightly bittersweet feeling.
This was the second time he had experienced such an emotion. The first being when he had to bid goodbye to his family before he travelled to the Training Camp.
Nico released another sigh and closed his eyes. An indeterminable amount of time later, he heard a door being shut. He opened his eyes and found the trainee who had stood in front of him in the queue exit the cabin.
She had an expressionless face. Although if he looked closer, he could make out what seemed to be a mix of joy and relief hidden in the depth of her pupils.
Nico's lips curled up despite himself, infected by his fellow trainee's euphoria.
He took a steadying breath before suppressing the trembling of his legs. He did his best to walk forward with a confident gait. Passing the trainee who had passed her own trial, he nodded briefly before turning his attention back to the hut composed of some sort of dark wood.
'Here I go.'
With another short breath, Nico firmly pushed aside any second doubts and opened the door.
He calmly stepped inside.
The time for his trial had finally come.
***
Entering the cabin, darkness was the first thing that greeted Nico. The blackness was thick and as his eyes scrambled to adjust to the lack of light; he felt a shiver crawl down his spine.
Taking a few tentative steps in what he perceived to be a forward direction, Nico suddenly tensed. His mind alert and ready to react.
All around him, a white mist suddenly flooded the interior of the hut. As his eyes continued to adjust, Nico found that just like the darkness, the fog was thick and hampered his vision.
He couldn't see more than a few paces in front of him.
Gripped with apprehension, Nico silently gazed at the mist for a few moments before his eyes involuntarily drooped. He desperately tried to fight the sudden drowsiness.
His heart skipped a beat.
Alas, whatever force Nico was up against was too powerful for him to fight.
Within a couple of seconds, he became too sleepy to put up any form of resistance. The last thing Nico witnessed before his vision blackened out was the dense fog rushing up to meet him.
When he came to, he lay spread-eagled on a cobbled road. Nico shook his head to clear any remaining remnants of drowsiness away, before he quickly scanned his surroundings.
His brows involuntarily creased.
All around him, buildings lay in ruin. Some of them had their roofs destroyed, exposing the interior to the unruly elements. Others had their entrances blown off, windows shattered, white stone and bricks crumbled to dust…
As Nico's eyes hurriedly flicked through the destruction, a sudden tempest of wind blew through where he stood. He suddenly staggered as he paled.
That gale had brought forth a horrible stench that caused him to gag.
That smell… had a perverse, rotting feel to it.
Nico peered closer. And when he did, the contents of his stomach immediately emptied. Or at least tried to. Nothing came out.
His eyes bulged in alarm as he began hyperventilating.
Intermixed between the rubble, what seemed to be mangled pieces of flesh stood out. Some stuck out after just barely a glance, the dried blood staining it in a crimson blotch.
Others crushed beyond salvation, the bloody pulps of flesh blemishing the formerly pristine, white street.
Nico felt like throwing up for a second time. Taking short, sharp breaths to prevent panic from completely overwhelming him, he grimaced; the familiar debilitating sensation of anxiety pressing down on his chest and swirling deep in his stomach.
It was not a pleasant one.
'What could have caused this much destruction?'
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, like some predestined manouevere, he lifted his head and stared at the sky.
He did not find the usual cerulean sky, nor the familiar amethyst colour that permeated the firmament.
No, what he had discovered was vastly different… something supernatural.
Reflected in his eyes, what seemed to be the outline of a gargantuan shadow was blotting out the sky.
Staring at that silhouette, Nico felt like a tiny ant in front of a dragon, although this comparison had to be multiplied many times over, for it to portray the helplessness that suddenly coursed through his veins.
His mind failed to comprehend how something so huge could exist.
Peering closer, Nico gasped. He spied two figures - who appeared to be two tiny specks of light compared to that monstrous shadow - clashing against the silhouette that blotted the sky.
Tempests and hurricanes formed from the collision.
Nico watched, stunned as the resulting aftershocks of the clash crashed into the buildings below, ravaging them without sympathy. As much as the two combatants - who faced the humongous shadow - were doing their best to prevent any shockwaves from impacting those below, it seemed unavoidable.
Just as he witnessed another building crumble to dust on the horizon, Nico suddenly jolted. Screams of agony, despair, laments filled the air.
The sounds in the area only somehow now registering in his mind.
There was another type of cry that resonated with his soul the most…
It was a scream of… grief.
Nico's expression grew pained.
The jarring cacophony threatened to plunge him deeper into the abyss of helplessness.
Overwhelmed for the third time in as many minutes, Nico gazed at his hands and found them trembling. It wasn't just his hands, though, every part of his body was trembling from head to toe.
The air, thick with anguish and distress burrowed into his psyche, attempting to alter his mental state forever. Suddenly realising the danger of remaining in one spot, Nico steeled his mind, suppressed the trembling, and started moving.
He had no time to ponder on why he had been suddenly transported to a place filled with destruction and the fires of War - based on the clash occurring high above.
Breaking into a brisk jog, Nico stopped beside a partially destroyed wall made of the same white stone that encompassed his surroundings.
'Now that I think about it, everything here is white…'
He narrowed his eyes in contemplation, before he shook his head and focused on what he was about to do next.
Nico slowly clenched his fist and released a quick jab toward the 'wall'. He watched with fascination as his arm phased harmlessly through the stone. Attempting to touch several other things in his immediate vicinity, yielded the same results.
Even when he tried to dislodge a piece of debris from the ground, his hand failed to grasp anything. It seemed he couldn't touch anything.
All he could do was watch…
Nico's expression turned mixed. On one hand, that he was 'immaterial' meant that no harm could come to him, which was relieving. On the other hand, though, it meant that he could not provide any aid to those whose screams filled the air.
Sometimes watching and being unable to do anything, was just as crippling as facing the event head-on.
Nico shook his head furiously. He scanned his surroundings with urgency. A moment later, he shifted his neck and gazed behind him at the distressing battle playing out.
Nico's expression turned full of remorse, before it morphed into one of determination.
He had to find the key to the trial.
And fast…
Nico continued to run, shutting out the noise of his surroundings. Any more of those screams filled with despair, agony, and anguish… and he felt he wouldn't be able to take another step.
He inhaled and kept moving at a steady pace. After a couple of minutes of exploration, Nico had a brief idea of his surroundings. The city - a presumption he had made based on the many buildings and humans that populated the place - was circular.
Currently, he was in its outer edges.
Nico's goal was to head toward the centre. From a distance, it seemed to be less damaged than the outskirts. As such, it was prudent to head to a safer place and find out what exactly was going on.
At one point, fed up with his slow progress, Nico abandoned any caution to the wind and phased through a partially destroyed house, seeking to take a shortcut to the other side and save time. He instantly regretted it as his expression froze.
He walked in on a Demon cornering a helpless family.
The mother held a small form in her arms, sobbing incessantly amidst her screams for help. In front of her, a person who appeared to be her husband resolutely stood his ground, facing the Demon.
The weapon in his hand shook despite his best efforts to steady it.
The repulsive abomination - something resembling a humanoid creature in nature - towered above the three humans. Its circular maw filled with razor-sharp teeth and crimson flames burned furiously in its eyes.
Within an instant, the Demon struck. The man, who was just a mundane human, had no chance to retaliate.
Before he could even move, the Demon's arm pierced his chest. Blood splattered in the air, little droplets falling on the mother and her little baby.
The woman released an anguished cry seeing her husband's crumpled form. Her eyes widened in pure terror…
Nico hastily stumbled out of the building, gasping, and heaving. The sensation of bile rising in his throat burned briefly…
Just about managing not to gag, Nico shook his head and clenched his fists.
Two streams of liquid silently flowed down his cheeks and phased into ground below.
After quickly wiping his transparent tears, Nico forged ahead and steeled his mind. He did not let the surrounding carnage affect his mental state.
Finally, after some travelling, he arrived near the centre of the city. Here, the buildings were more intact, somehow still standing even after being assaulted by the brutal aftershocks.
'What remarkable craftsmanship.'
Nico silently admired the handiwork. As he stopped beside a large tower composed of the same white stone, his gaze unconsciously scanned its surface.
And when he did, his pupils slowly widened…
There, etched on the pale stone, a black symbol contrasted against the brightness. The insignia depicted the image of a circle drawn within in an inverted triangle.
'W-What?!'
Nico unconsciously gasped and took a step back.
He had stumbled upon the symbol of the ancient Empire of Crafters…